The Los Angeles Lakers had a Staples Center matinee with a few thousand of their closest friends against the Utah Jazz. Both teams were shooting lights out from distance but the Lakers turned up the defensive pressure, rode Dennis Schroder and Andre Drummond to the finish line and got a very important win!
WOW! Just WOW!
In one of the most entertaining games you will ever see without the benefit of stars, the Los Angeles Lakers outlasted the Western Conference’s number one seed, the Utah Jazz, 127-115.
The Lake Show sure made some friends in Phoenix. With the Jazz loss, the Suns are tied in the loss column for the top spot in the West. The Lakers stay at the fifth seed, but are now considered possibly the most dangerous middle seed since the Houston Rockets completed their back to back NBA title run back in the mid 90’s.
The good from the Los Angeles Lakers’ win:
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope actually believed he could shoot in this game!
KCP was feeling himself shooting the 3 ball in this game. In the first half alone, Caldwell-Pope led the Lakers in scoring with 18 points (6-11 shooting!) on the strength of five 3 point shots. This production was crucial for the Lakers as Utah was firing up bombs at a ridiculous rate.
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Plus Lake Show Life would like to congratulate the starting shooting guard for making a little bit of history placing himself in the fifth spot in most 3 pointers in franchise history.
KCP was holding his leg in overtime but he seemed to be all right. He finished with 25 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Just outstanding!
Dennis Schroder was handing out business cards!
Ever since that Brooklyn game a week ago, Dennis Schroder has found the right gear in setting the pace with the Los Angeles Lakers offense. He is really taking what the defense is giving him in the mid range game as well as setting up his teammates for easy baskets.
Dennis Schroder has played a lot better after the rumors of his contract situation died down. Dennis the “Menace” finished with yet another strong game finishing with 25 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks.
His defensive stand against Jordan Clarkson and his jumper on the other end to give the Lakers the lead in crunch time is exactly what the Lakers advertised when they made the Danny Green trade.
In the overtime period, Schroder hit the gas pedal and the Lakers ran away with the win!
Andre Drummond stomped the Utah Jazz frontline in every way imaginable!
With Rudy Gobert not playing in this game, it’s not surprising that Andre Drummond put in work in this game. But that’s not Drummond’s fault. Blame Utah for their decisions. Andre put on a showcase last week in Brooklyn, but it looked like a regular performance compared to what he did to Utah.
https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1383545769819447296
It was good to see Drummond come out with a strong performance like this especially when he let his frustrations know about his offensive struggles. Lake Show Life went in depth on the reasons why…
Must read: Los Angeles Lakers: What’s really going on with Andre Drummond
In this game, his activity on the defensive end helped charge his offensive numbers! He finished with a Laker high 27 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block.
Free throws? He hit seven of eight!
This was a very entertaining game.
If you read the injury report from both teams, skipping this game probably was on your mind. Hopefully the decision to watch the game was the final one. This was an amazing game to watch and cover.
Both teams showed their strengths and even though there were short sloppy stretches, it was mostly a clean game with skillsets dominating the game on both sides. A great game to watch.
The bad from the Los Angeles Lakers’ win:
Ersan Ilyasova in the beginning:
If you don’t know this guy, it’s understandable. But believe it or not, he’s been in the NBA for years. Why? Because he’s a big man that can shoot the ball. Ersan was shooting that thang in the first quarter.
He shot 5-5 from behind the arc for 15 points. If he didn’t get in foul trouble (Three fouls by the 10:00 mark of the second quarter), Ilyasova probably would have gone for 50 points. Even though Andre Drummond had his issues getting out to him on the perimeter, it wouldn’t have mattered. He was just that hot. He fouled out with 20 points.
His Utah Jazz teammates were just as hot as Ilyasova from distance!
The Jazz has been the number one team in the NBA in 3 point percentage and makes. They showed everyone that laid eyes on this game why that is the case. The Jazz shot…get this…13-27 from the land of the extra point. These are totals for most NBA teams. They finished with 23 shots from long distance. This was not bad Lakers defense Lakers fans, these guys can shoot!
Jordan Clarkson in the fourth quarter:
This is not the Jordan Clarkson that played in a Lakers uniform folks! He has grown into a bonafide bucket getter. He started slowly spending his time barking at the referees in the first half (Even drawing a technical foul!) but he really started turning it on in crunch time spearheading a 15-0 run to make things close. He finished with 27 points.
The story from the Los Angeles Lakers’ win:
The Los Angeles Lakers locked Utah up in the third quarter.
The Lakers forced the Utah Jazz into eight turnovers in the third quarter which double their entire output in the first half. Then they made adjustments on their 3 point defensive schemes and Utah’s shooters stopped hitting their shots.
The Los Angeles Lakers ALMOST BLEW IT in the fourth quarter!
Utah started the last quarter on a 15-4 run take the lead. The Lakers offense went cold going without a basket for almost six minutes. But Dennis Schroder exploded late and hit a layup with three seconds left in regulation to send it into overtime!
The Los Angeles Lakers dominated overtime!
(Checking notes)…Lakers 17 and the Jazz 5? Oh…that’s it!
Everyone should want the Lakers to play the Jazz in a playoff series!
Oh the Lake Show Life staff can be petty. The NBA fans need a Lakers/Jazz playoff series. Why?
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LeBron James will not forget this moment.